Is It Winter

It was 62 degrees today down in town. I can't complain too much about this not winter weather since it is allowing me to get some paying kind work done. I stopped in at one garden today just to check on pond scum and the daffodils were coming up big time. This is the one garden where I leave the perennials standing all winter and plan the chop down for around February 1st to stay ahead of the rising bulbs and avoid stepping on them.

I wasn't quite prepared for the chop down today. I may need to go ahead and do it a bit early next week.

I have been able to enjoy some extended quality viewing time with the evergreen Under Garden of winter interest. There has only been a singular snow cover event in this not winter. Plenty rain which is nice. All the wet should help make up for the fall drought deficit.

The color I am getting out of this baby Under Garden in the not dead of winter is pretty impressive. It is exactly what I had in mind. I was not expecting so much help from nature. Even in Polar Vortex winters, nature contributes that green. That is equally impressive.

The Witch Hazels are supposed to bloom now, weathers depending. I expect that. What may happen with this warm not winter is that it could be over in a flash. In the cold, they can drag out the bloom for weeks.

'Diane' #2 joined in today. I have five of the Hamamelis x intermedia cultivars in the garden so far. I considered planting more near the chimney and never got around to it. Maybe this year. The chimney did get a fall blooming baby Hamamelis virginiana a few years back. It survived the transplant, but has been slow, like most things, to settle in and grow.

It was a fine day for winter gardening. I had another high priority item on the list that needed tending to first. Then when I got home I went out to pick up trash along the scenic byway. There have been some very piggish people driving the byway of late. All the extra trash was getting on my nerves.

My new truck is officially ready for work with a spray on bed liner. The plastic insert bed liner would have been a bed decomposing nightmare for a gardener's truck in a temperate rain forest. I had it removed before I even took possession of the truck.

That brand new shiny truck bed lasted one day of work before it was scratched up. After three weeks of work, it wasn't new anymore. The spray on bed liner in my old truck lasted the entire 189,000 miles. I hope to get that and more out of this truck.

It's been a low chills winter so far with a few extra frills.